Improvement in centre-boards for vessels



@met Gettin.

JONATHAN DILLON',

OF'NEW YORK, N. Y.

Letter-s .Patent No. 93,070, dated J'uly 27, 1869.

-IMPROVEMENT IN CENTRE-BOARDS FOR VESSE'LS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making parl: of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JONATHAN DILLoN, of thecity, county, and State of New York, haye invented a-new and`usefulImprovement in Adjustable Centre-Boards for Sailing-Vessels, and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference heilig had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention consists in a centre-board, composed of one or morefolding leaves, similarly hinged to each other, and retained in a stateof rigidity with respect to each other and to the hull,^by a removablelockingrod passing through a socket in the hull, and through socketsformed in said leaves, whereby, upon the par tial or entire withdrawalof the said rod, any or all the said leaves may, by means of a guy, bedrawn up out of the way, to either side of the hull.

Referring to the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 represents alongitudinal view of the hull of a vessel, provided with a centre-board,constructed according to my invention, and

Figure 2 represents an end view of the saine, illustrating its operationin colored outlines.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

` A is the hnll'of a vessel, B is a centre-board, having its upper'edgehinged to the bottom of the hull, as shown, so' as to admit of its beinglaterally folded to either' side, so as, by the foldingofthesame,to-allow ofthe passage of the vessel over shoals and other shallowplaces over which it would not otherwise pass. It is composed of one ormore leaves, the lower, when more than one are used, being hinged to theupper, similar in manner to that in which the upper is hinged to-thehull.

These folding leaves are each formed with a socket, c, for reception ofa movable locking-rod, f.

Said rod f is also fitted in a socket, a1, which passes in and throughthe bottom of thev hull, and upward through the hull and cabin, lso thatwhile 'the said rod is fitted therein, and in the said sockets c, thecentreboard is retained in a rigid pendent position.

By the partial withdrawal of the rod f, so that its lower end will clearthe socket of the lower leaf or leaves, Vsaid lower leaf` or leaves may,by means of a guy-rope, e, be drawn partially to the leeward side,thereby forming a cupped or concave surface, as illustrated in redoutline, tig. 2, for. the purpose of resisting more eectually thetendency of the vessel to drift in that direction.

-By greater tension of the guy, as illustrated in. blue outline, saidportion of the centre-board maybe drawn up out of the way, allowingthereby the passage ofthe vessel over Shoals and shallow places, stillleaving aportion of the centre-board to the action of the water.

By withdrawing the locking-rod f entirely above-or,

out of the sockets e, of all the said leaves, the entire centre-boardmay be brought up hat against the bottom'otl the hull, as shown at x x,iig.'2.

The upper ends of the sockets c are or may be funnel-shaped, forfacilitating the entrance of the lockingrod, and when desirable, anadditional guy maybe attached and used upon the opposite side of thevvessel in connection with the guy c, to facilitatethe adjustment of thecentre-board preparatory to the lowering of the rod.

The guy or guys, when rot in use, are carried aft, and are made fast toa suitable fastening, h, at or near the stern, where they may be inpositionto offer less resistance to forward motion, and where they maybe less likely to gather or retain sea-weed or other matter.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to se# cure by LettersPatent,'is-

The laterally-folding centre-board B, composed o1 one or :more foldingleaves, having sockets c, the removablev locking-rod f, the fixed socketa, and the guy e, combined foroperation, substantially as hereindescribed. I

JONATHAN DILLON.

Witnesses FRED. HAYNns, J. W. CooMBs.

